BEGINS ONCE AGAIN
and Dean Siney have further strengthened their hand.
KEY GAME: The opener will be a real test but the last two games are against Baltinglass and St Patrick’s so little margin for error early on.
The champions in 2016 were very disappointed at how they relinquished their title.
Losing to great rivals Rathnew in the semi-final will have hurt them and Ciaran Walsh used the league to blood plenty of new players.
They are forever producing top quality players in Baltinglass and have players still in their team with a couple of championship medals to guide them along.
LAST TITLE: 2016 They have taken home the honours on 22 occasions and that fact alone shows the tradition is abundant.
They had plenty of lads playing well against Kilcoole in the Division 3 league final who could feature in senior ranks yet in 2018.
KEY PLAYERS: Mark Jackson is the name that has been on many peoples lips already this year and his ability to kick long range frees makes him vital to their cause.
They will try find the right blend of youth and experience and Billy Cullen, Ian Sheerin, Jason Kennedy, Sean O’Brien and John McGrath are key figures.
KEY GAME: Opening with a game against St Pat’s will tell us a lot about where both are in terms of fitness and timing.
Their last game is against Blessington and if either slip up along the way this one could be massive. Casey O’Brien in his second year in charge has already landed the Dunne Cup and they looked good beating Blessington in the final even if the game wasn’t quite fought out at championship pace.
LAST TITLE: 2012. They bowed out to Blessington in the quarter final in 2017 having looked like they were building nicely towards a tilt at the title.
KEY PLAYER: Keeping Tommy Kelly fit will be massive.
He has had enough bad luck with injuries the past couple of years to do him a lifetime.
If he is flying and Stephen Duffy is on song they will pose problems.
Simon Bouchier has settled in well in a new look half back line where Conor Ffrench is dominating games from.
KEY GAME: Playing Baltinglass firstly like in 2017 will have them ready to go.
The fact they play Annacurra six days later will be huge test early doors for them too.
They have proved over the past few years that there are few better teams at performing when it really matters on championship days.
A semi-final appearance in 2015 was well merited and they had Rathnew on the rack last year so while many will be tipping the trio of Blessington, St Pat’s and Baltinglass to come out of this group the Derrysiders are well capable of upsetting the odds at any time.
LAST TITLE: 1931. Made the final in 1990 but met Baltinglass the best club team in the land at the time who were unstoppable.
Rathnew eventually saw them off in 2017 after a replay but they recovered to land the Keating Trophy.
KEY PLAYERS: Alan Byrne is still one of their most important players but the emergence of Gearoid Murphy in 2017 and his progression to John Evans senior team is remarkable.
Frank Clune, Martin O’Brien and Ian McDonald are others who have seen county action while Mick O’Brien, Paul McDonald, Liam Moules and the Horan brothers are strong on championship days.
KEY GAME: They have the most unenviable set of fixtures anywhere in Wicklow championships for 2018.
They will have played Blessington, St Pat’s and Baltinglass all in the space of 12 days!
If their squad is strong and stays injury free they could be in a very healthy position on July 26th.
The Magpies are building nicely again. Decimated with injuries the past couple of years they come in to championship action after landing the Division 2 league title.
A fine blend of youth and experience will test the mettle of all in the group.
Shane Mooney missed last year’s campaign with a knee injury and his return is a huge boost to John Lynch’s team.
LAST TITLE: 1975. They bowed out at the group stage in 2017 but it could have been so different if they had started with a win over Avondale.
KEY PLAYERS: The pace of Ross Davis, Declan Doyle, Sean Gregory and Conor Odlum will worry teams while Dean Odlum has recovered from his achilles injury.
Ross Odlum and Cathal McNicholas have also returned. Bobby Grennan, Neil Martin and Darren Walsh are classy defenders with Mark Fitzsimons and Paul O’Riordan a strong centre field pairing.
KEY GAME: No doubting the first game v AGB is massive.
A win here could give their young players a surge of confidence and belief.
They will trouble all-comers regardless and always fight right to the end.
They have settled back to senior football with little fuss.
A brilliant display against Blessington in the group stage in 2017 was one of the performances of the summer.
They too are blessed with some really talented players with youth on their side.
They were resolute in the league final draw against Tinahely despite being short a whopping eight or their first team.
If the injuries have healed up they could surprise a few again in 2018.
LAST TITLE: They were very disappointed to bow out at quarter final stage in 2017 and possibly underestimated Avondale a little that day. They will look to put things right in 2018.
KEY PLAYERS: Philip Healy is still one of the top marksmen around. Ciaran Hyland and Philip Gleeson are struggling with an injury and Darragh Fitzgerald is also a doubt. JP Hurley is maturing well as a midfielder and Chris O’Brien is having a great year.
The pace of Cathal Kelleher, Peter Hempenstall and Cormac O’Shea will worry teams while Mervyn Travers is still calling the shots from the goal.